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tv   Special Report With Bret Baier  FOX News  March 19, 2013 3:00pm-4:00pm PDT

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network. >> roger is a meticulous producer, as you know. he probably knows television as well anybody alive. he has real leadership qualities. everybody i talk to. i have met a lot of people in my life, work places and people always say nice things about their boss because they better. the way people talk about roger at fox is a different kind of a way. >> andrea: he is an excellent coach. he is reason why all of us are sitting here. he hand picks his talent. he is the best producer. i would say the best leader and, of course, legend in the tv world. much, much more. he helped elect three presidents. and roger, you are the best. buy the book to get a look behind the scenes at who he is. >> bob: that was moving commentary. >> andrea: thank you. i feel passionate about the topic. as you can see.
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>> dana: i'm switching topics. good news, bad news. yoga abouts there could be a shortage of black yoga pants. lululemon, out of vancouver, british columbia has a problem. shipment came in and everybody buys the yoga pants but they're too sheer. they only discovered this because people in yoga class realized they were revealing more than they were planning on. so if you want to find up for yoga classes around here, you might -- >> bob: i'll sign up tomorrow. >> dana: there could be a shortal of black yoga pants. freddie there are people in second and third worlds who do yoga. >> dana: in black lululemon yoga pants? >> greg: yes! >> bob: i have been saying this for a long time. the biggest threat to the united states ever will be the chinese. they have now involved in cyber hacking in our country. our best corporations, military and other things.
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tom clancy has a book out about it. read it and it will show you what chinese are up to. not good. >> andrea: that is it for us on "the five." thank you for watching, everybody. see you here tomorrow. ♪ ♪ >> bret: this is a fox news alert. i'm bret baier. it's the deadliest day in iraq this year. almost two dozen bombings, most of them in and around baghdad leaving 6 of 5 people dead and -- 65 people dead and 200 wounded. terrorists, insurgents whatever you call them. they sent a bloody anniversary message because today marks a decade since the u.s. -led invasion began in iraq. ten years ago tonight at 10:16:00 p.m. eastern, president bush addressed the nation from the oval office. >> my fellow citizens. at this hour, american coalition forces are in the early stage of military
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operations to disarm iraq, free its people and defend the world from great danger. >> bret: since that time, 1.5 million american troops served inside iraq. nearly 4 ,500 were killed there. more than 32,000 american troops were wounded in iraq. more than 100 iraqis died in the fighting. more than a year after american troops left iraq is still bloody battlefield. today, as we said, series of apparently coordinated bombings. death toll is 65. could still rise. david is an international lawyer with the d.c. firm patton boggs and used to be head of the rule of law for the state department inside baghdad. he returned there this week to work on investment project and really spent the day trying to stay safe. he joins us now by phone live in baghdad after leaving his hotel due to the danger of the bombing attacks. dave, thank you for joining us. what can you tell us about today?
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>> thanks, bret. the ten-year anniversary of the invation of iraq was marked by some tension reminiscent of the worst days of the war. bombs went off across baghdad today is. resulting in multiple deaths and injury. as we drove around baghdad today we saw the result in closing of government offices and businesses early. traffic jacks and some gridlock across the city. the same time, today was marked by new political uncertainty. lack lab announced provincial elections would be put off for six months. iraqi government sources are telling us now that the delay will be extented for all provinces across iraq. so in some, while the security has mostly improved in iraq over the last few years, the anniversary was a reminder of the darker days. >> bret: yeah, dave, what were you hearing and seeing? what were you hearing from the iraqis? were they shocked by this bombing, the series of
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bombings? >> guest: i think the bombings came as somewhat of a shock. although, everyone was aware of the anniversary. there have been bombings on previous verses haves, but the same time. the anniversary is a day that marks some upate and anger on the part of iraqis toward we werers. westerns are not so much of a target in iraq anymore. so depth and the amount of bombing was a surprise. certainly the announcement by prime minister al-awlaki was a big surprise. >> bret: what about the security situation? when you go around there. you are there on business, trying to do investment project. with business people. when you have security around there, what is it like? >> generally iraq is safer now than it was a pew years ago and certainly in 2006 and 2007 was violence was at the most significant. but, today was a tense day. there was a lot of security on the streets, a lot of military and police. a lot of check points.
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there was, you know, fear on the streets certainly with the government offices being evacuated and people going home early. >> bret: dave on the ground in baghdad. we thank you. live on the ground. stay safe. again, 65 dead so far. that number could rise in iraq. meantime, other violence to talk about. syria's government and opposition are trading accusations tonight about the use of chemical weapons. president obama characterized activity as a crossing a red line, that theoretically would lead to har, consequences. chief washington correspondent james rosen reports from the white house. >> syrian state television broadcast images showing victims of what the government said was a chemical attack launched by the rebels outside aleppo. the regime cited 16 dead and 86 injured, most critically. >> this morning, missile was
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launched. that missile carried poisonous gases. the substance of the missile caused the immediate fainting, convulsion and death. >> kremlin steadfastly backed the assad regime with weapons and political support blamed the rebels. but opposition leaders swiftly denied responsibility for attack in any event would have exceeded the known military capabilities. >> the rebels don't have access to chemical weapons. they don't have access to watch the chemical weapons. >> indeed the regime of the dictatorial president bashar assad long been believed to possess one of the largest arsenals of biological and chemicals weapons. he has used scud missile against the rebels in the two-year civil war that claimed upwards of 70,000 lives. while the pentagon restricted itself to saying that the u.s. has no evidence that either side used chemical weapons, others in the obama administration went on offense. >> to say we have no reason to believe the allegations represent anything more than the regime's continued attempt
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to discredit the legitimate opposition and distract from its own atrocities committed against the syrian people. >> we would warn the regime making these charges, any kind of pretext or cover. for its use of chemical weapons. >> that wasn't the first such warning from the white house. >> red line for us is we start seeing chemical weapons moved around or utilized. >> late today, carl levin, democrat of michigan and chairman of the senate armed services committee told foreignpolicy.com josh rogan he wants to see the u.s. establish no fly zone over syria. others want to see u.s. troops on the ground in syria, possibly in conjunction with nato or other allied forces to secure the stockpiles of chemical weapons. bret? >> bret: james rosen live on the north lawn. thank you. president obama leaves in an hour-and-a-half on his second mideast trip as
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commander-in-chief. it will include his first such visit to israel. chief white house correspondent ed henry is in jerusalem tonight. ed, just judging by the first two stories it seems like we will hear about syria, maybe more about iran over the course of the trip. >> no doubt, bret. front and center, especially after the president gave the interview to tv station to say a year or so before irap developed nuclear weapons to suggest that sanctions can work. you know there is daylight there between he and the israeli government. if you go back to last september, prime minister netanyahu went before-up general saying and famously drew that red line. said he thinks that iran could be on the wink brink of nuclear weapons less than a year. they could get 90% of the way there and take it underground away from the international inspectors and get the nuclear weapons and the world could do nothing to stop it. the president has work to do. poll on the newspaper, where israeli citizens were asked
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what do you think the president's attitude toward israel is? 33% said it's favorable. 14% said indifferent. shocking 38% said the president attitude toward israel is hostile. bottom line, when you talk about syria, iran, what is happening in egypt. instability, this is a region inty multi. >> bret: it seems syria could dominate a lot of coverage. >> no doubt about it. pressure on the president to act, given all those who died. as james pointed out the chemical weapons situation could be a game changer. >> bret: ed henry live in jerusalem. thank you. lawmakers in cyprus spent today debating the plan we told you about yesterday to raid individual savings accounts. senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot tells us what happened. >> time insy produce. controversial plan to use portion of private bank deposits to finance a bail-out for the near bankrupt country was voted down by the
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parliament. [ inaudible [ inaudible ] >> they ordered down the blast. no tax or levy would be imposed on deposits less than $26,000. but there would have still been a fight on largeer amounts. it has people lining up at atm again today. banks remain closed. i am withdrawing some money in case of an emergency, this cypriat says. european union helped force the plan on cyprus in exchange for additional bail-out money. today, they, too, admit the seizure of private funds was a dangerous idea. >> i understand that there was a feeling, the bo in a way. >> russians have been speaking out against the approach as
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well. they hold up to half of the foreign investments in deposi deposits in cyprus. existing loans with moscow set to be present. >> there is a contract between russians and placement insy produce and the russian government. it's safer to put mup there. >> now the cyprus government has to figure out a new way out of the trouble. european union has to figure out if it will help lower. the banks are set to reopen on thursday. bret? >> greg palkot in london. thank you. back here at home, another government money-grab curing right now in california. correspondent william la jeunesse has the story you have to see to believe. >> this notice is the first they heard of it. >> to brian overstreet, it was a punch in the gut. comply innocent of california. $6 million bill for back taxes. >> what is outrageous, not a five-year look back but interest on money you didn't know you owed.
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>> hundreds like him got a letter from the state telling him due to a court ruling 50% tax break for small business and startup investors was no longer available and anybody who claimed it in the last five years had to pay up. >> retroactivity is fairest in and credittal for california. >> the california tax leaders say what the state is doing is unfair. overreacting and overreaching. hoping to claw back $120 million for cash strapped california. >> the problem right now we have is what is the rev -- once the the folks in sacramento will figure out how to spend it already. >> pro-business lawmakers trying to rescind the letter fearing high-build investors who build the economy will flee to lower tax state. >> the game is rigged. yuf want win. we can change the rules on you after the fact. that is not fair. >> ironically for a tax break design to inven insent vise investment, it's reinforcing
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california antibusiness reputation. jerry brown issued a statement -- we are reviewing the situation to term how best to help the business owners given court's decision." >> ultimately, the legislature can try to fix it but the bill is still on the governor's desk. >> state he affected taxpayers can request a waiver to hope they lamer out a deal. if the reprieve does not come, the tax man will. >> bret: william la jeunesse in los angeles. thank you. the house has begun general debate on the budget on capitol hill. that discussion will continue in to tomorrow. followed by debate on the proposals by republican paul ryan. alternatives. housing start meantime continue to rise. february's numbers where are behind only december's. as the best since 2008. building permit request reached 4-1/2-year high. dow liked that returning to the positive side a bit. gaining four.
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s&p 500 dropped four. nasdaq lost 8-1/2. no news is not necessarily good news in the benghazi terror investigation. we'll explain. up next, using a terrible strategy to score political points. hey, our salads.
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>> bret: seven marines were killed late monday when something went wrong in a training mission in nevada. national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon with the story of how the accident happened and how it's used as a political tool. good evening, jennifer. >> good evening. hours after the tragedy which occurred in his home state, senator harry reid use the hawthorne training accident to talk about sequestration on military readiness. >> it's just not appropriate, mr. president, that our military can't train and do the maintenance necessary. the men and women, our marines
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were trained in hawthorne. the sequester will cut it back. i just hope everyone understands. sacrifices made by the military. they are significant. >> marine official responded, "i don't know how anyone could link this accident to budget cuts. budget cuts would never cause marines to operate in unsafe conditions." reid communication director added the clarification, "the idea that senator reid thinks the hawthorne tragedy has anything to do with the sequester is absurd and unsubstantiateed by the remarks on the topic." the cause of the explosion is still under investigation. but the marine officials confirm that a 670-mim meter mortar round exploded prematurely inside the tube in a live fire exercise at awe thorn imminution depot -- ammunition depot.
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seven were killed, five immediately. the other two en route to hospital. they were flown to reno. hawthorne army depot is used for training because it has desert like conditions. they ordered a blanket sus specific of 60-millimeter mortars and associated tubes until the awe thorn investigation is complete. >> bret: jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. lawmaker is saying the state department is lying about access to americans wounded in last fall's terror attack. catherine herridge tells us about the stunning lack of process on bringing the terrorists to justice. >> four months after the egyptian authorities arrested ahmed whose followers are suspected to take part in the attack, the f.b.i. director was asked whether the agent are getting direct access. >> not yet. >> obstacles in libya, egypt and tunisia, where the embassy was nearly overrun three days later, lawmakers were told
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u.s. foreign aid exceeds half a billion dollars annually. >> the thought that the government will give that foreign aid and not have the f.b.i. be given access on the individual is unacceptable. >> in letter from republican susan collins on the intelligence committee, the f.b.i. director is asked to identify the suspects and whether any will be extradited to the u.s. for trial. in the house hearing, acknowledged the case faces obstacles from foreign government. >> the question is not necessarily the willingness but the capability. we are working on that. as i say, the investigation is progressing. >> in if case of congressional pressure to make survivors able to investigators the state department is noncommittal about access to its own employees. >> we have been working with the congress on the benghazi issue. both houses, many committees. for months and months about months. we have been very open to all of their requests and transparent with them about the details.
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>> chairman of the house government oversight committee told fox news the state department spokesperson claim of cooperation -- >> isn't true. they have not been open and transparent. in fact, even the names of the survivors so they could be asked if they would appear have not been provided. >> now letter obtained by fox news, the uncle of sean smith one of four americans murdered in benghazi supports a select committee to investigate because the families deserve the truth. he wants to take the president at the word the killers will face justice. >> bret: we'll stay on it here. still ahead the official start for the new pope. up next, the unofficial first days of the -- no, that would be the 2016 presidential campaign. stay with us. i'm doing my own sleep study. advil pm® or tylenol pm. the advil pm® guy is spending less time lying awake with annoying aches and pains and more time asleep. advil pm®. the difference is a better night's sleep.
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>> bret: the 20167 presidential race is underway among republicans. today, a per speck tiff candidate outlined his position on a hot button issue. chief political correspondent carl cameron with senator rand paul. >> we aren't going to deport 19 million illegal immigrants -- 12 million illegal immigrants. if you wish to work in america we'll find a place for you. >> kentucky senator rand paul who is seriously eyeing a 2016 white house run unveiled comprehensive immigration reform plan that he says could break years of gridlock. >> both sides are imprisoned by the own rhetoric or through the sacred cow preventing balanced solution. >> he argues a bipartisan immigration plan would turn off conservatives because it grantsbe 12 million illegal aliens here path to citizenship that would begin
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why the border is secured and certified by the customs and border patrol. paul's fan requires border security first by congress with an stamp of approval thereafter. >> some object to this but if you don't i don't think we'll get conservatives on board. we need everybody on board this is good for the country. >> for years, they have dismissed immigration reform code for amnesty. he says his plan is not amnesty because it is a work vista san antonio for illegals a year but still need to go through status for legal status. >> maybe there is something called probation where they came illegally and broke the law has a period they go through. >> paul has libertarian streak and rejects the bipartisan plan by rubio for electronic verification system to prevent illegals from getting hired. >> i don't like to make business owners a policeman. >> paul makes no bones about rupping for president. he is going to headline a
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dinner iowa where his father won the dominating delegates in 2012 and the first caucuses of the 2016 race will take place. >> bret: so it begins. carl. thank you. senate upcoming gun control bill will not include proposed been a on assault weapons. democrats are hoping that leaving it out will enhance the measure chance of passing the full senate. the ban may be offered up as amendment. disappointed senator feinstein said, "i tried my best." adding "the enemies on this are very powerful." no grapevine tonight. we'll bring you more on iraq ten years later including a visit with the man that fired the first shots of the gulf war. nerve pain, of course, i had no idea what it was. i felt like my feet were going to sleep. it progressed from there to burning like i was walking on hot coals
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>> bret: the tenth anniversary of the start of the iraq war marked by the bloodshed prominent in the past decade. wave of bombings in the baghdad area today left at least 65 people dead. more than 200 wounded. tonight, senior correspondent leverick leventhal continues his look at the war by talking to the man literally there at the start of shock and awe. >> march 20, 2003, u.s. on the brink of war, the third bay bah tallion fired the fist shots on the ground, over the kuwaiti border to iraq. sergeant bill waltly pulled
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the trigger. the explosive rounds from 25-millimeter bush master chain gun leveled iraqi guard post to help clear a path for the invation. >> i'm shooting. >> enemy responded firing mortars about a few days later ambushing the battalion. it lasted a hour. waltly never leaving his big gun. >> they were looking out to see what i could do. seen a couple of iraqi troops. fired upon them. >> what do you remember most about it? >> the lack of sleep. the long hours. basically pushing my body to the max. just make sure once again squared away. >> he is still in the corps, promoted to first sergeant, helping train reservists in juliet, illinois. spending quality time with his wife and two young sons. he says he doesn't regret a
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day of the service and still believes our troops made a difference in iraq. >> it's a culture of someone always putting their foot op their necks. the u.s. military along with the allies did a great job of trying to release the pressure. >> while marines don't typically travel with news crews, he says it made a big difference to loved ones back home. >> you being with the company, a lot of marines and a lot of families including wives had that link directly to l.a.r. every they, every night they said all they did is watch fox news to see you pop up on there. if you came up on the tv, they were going to get update on their spouse, whether you were interviewing them or not. >> he says the worst part of having us there, we kept eating his favorite mres. he says he will stay in marines as long as the corps will have him. >> bret: rick, thank you. following up on a story last week. about how difficult it is for vet raps to get v.a. benefi
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benefits -- veterans to get v.a. benefits. last week, they crashed with richard burrr over the report over the agent performance. house hearing on the claims processing is scheduled tomorrow. updated v.a. statistks say there are 862,000 claims pending and the wait time is 273 days. pope francis urged his flock to protect the environment, the weak and the poor in today's installation mass at the vatican. seep your foreign affairs correspondent amy kellogg has highlights from rome. >> did a couple of laps at st. peter's square and got out with a disabled man in with crowd of 200,000 people. then there was a homily. >> let us never forget, that authentic power is service. and that the pope when exercising power also must enter ever more boldly in that
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service, which has the raidient culmination on the cross. >> the feast day of st. joseph, the new pope hit hard on the scene, protecting and looking after others. >> i think the pope saying also tenderness is not weakness, which is great. meaning saying it's good to have a heart. it's not weakness on your part to care about those two are left out, who are sick. lonely. who are poor. >> earlier pope francis took possession of his new fisherman's ring, symbol of st. peter or the stole made of sheep's wool, recalling the good shepherd with the flock on his shoulders. member of the u.s. congressional delegation feels confident there will be active interfaith outreach under this pope. >> the faith community comes closer and becomes a very potent proponent of peace. as he said in the homily, like
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st. francis we need to be peace-makers. >> these are early days but the expectation is we'll see more of the pope here and abroad, amidst and close to the people. in rome, amy kellogg, fox new news. >> bret: iraq ten years after the start of the war. bloody day today. fox all-stars weigh in when we return. this day calls you. to fight chronic osteoarthritis pain. to fight chronic low back pain. to take action. to take the next step. today, y will know you did something for your pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a pain reliever fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can helpeduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. anti-depressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta inot for children under 18.
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people taking maois, linezolid or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, lir disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. take the next step. talk to your doctor. cymbalta can help.
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vo: to the elegant trim es in each and every piece,
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bold will make your reality a dream. american and coalition forces in the early stages of military operations to disarm iraq. >> major combat operations in iraq have ended. in a battle of iraq, the united states and our allies have prevailed. >> it would be a terrible mistake to think that iraq is a fully secure, fully pacifyed environment. it is not. >> the united states military
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forces captured saddam hussein alive. >> we're involved in an insurgency. very violent insurgency. >> after nine years, america's war in iraq will be over. >> 10:16:00 p.m. ten years ago, president bush made the announce fire department the oval office that the official operation, operation enduring freedom had begun. ten years later there is new violence in baghdad. series of coordinated bombings. that is how we start the panel. let's bring in the panel. jason riley, editorial board member of the "wall street journal." a.b. stoddard from the hill. syndicated columnist charles krauthammer. boy, jason, on a day where it was marking this anniversary ten years. >> there are a lot of lessons to tra from ten years from iraq.
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one, we can never get involved in insurgency again. or two, we should be better prepared. we go get involved in these. i think the changing nature of warfare after 9/11, option two is really the only viable option. that means you know, better intelligence. i think, i would add everyone from nancy pelosi to john kerry to bill clinton and denny blair -- tony blair thought saddam hussein was reconstituting the wmd program and used chemical weapons before. there are things we could do better going forward. >> bret: i said operation enduring freedom. that was afghanistan. iraqi freedom, the iraq operation. a.b., you look at how it came to an end. and the violence on the ground now. and what do you think? >> well, that is what is so hard. you look a year-and-a-half, year-and-a-half after the official end of the war and hard to say we protected the gains we made there. not everything we did was wrong. there was a lot of good
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accomplished. the problem is iranian influence on the rise, al-qaeda getting strong there. a lot of violence that you mentioned. that leaves at it scary play. and, you know, it really to me is a turning point in history in way that the world perceives american strength. our own people marx yourty of americans think they think it was a mistake. the premise of the war will a be questioned, so will the results. >> bret: charles? >> the future of iraq today is indeterminant. in a large part because of the botched occupation, where we tried not just to change the government but the army, the police, the coinal, currency, everything. the model was nazi germany. but that was leveled. so we had our way. ironically, the initial toppling of the saddam government was so economical, so efficient, historically so
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discriminating that it left iraq intact. we did not have our way. but then there was another turning point, which was the surge. which was the finest moment of the bush administration. democrats opposed it. it defeated the insurgency and decimateed al-qaeda in iraq. it created conditions for stability. the worst irony is that obama was handed one task. one task alone, the war ended on the ground to preserve the gains by negotiating that agreement to leave behind residual force to mediate between the sects, train a army and exert influence. that would have left us with iraq has a strategic ally in the region. obama botched it. he not successful. he gave it and delegated it to the vice president. a failure. as a result, iraq is out of
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our hands. we have no influence. great sacrifice. i think that is sort of the most ironic tragedy of them all. >> bret: today there was an exchange between james rose an jay carney at the white house in which carney said that george w. bush was to be credited for taking out saddam hussein along with the u.s. military who were there obviously. is there an issue in looking back and seeing the good in iraq talking about it? >> the good is unmistakable. saddam regime, dynasty with this was the cruelest on the planet. sadistic government. it was the most aggressive. starting wars on all fronts. it's gone. iraq now is not a left. not exactly democratic. but it's not the hell that saddam iraq was. that is undeniable. the problem for americans the sacrifice was huge. and tragic.
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and strategic advantage which we hoped to gain to have ally in iraq was squandered at the end of the surge. >> bret: i spent 12 trips to iraq over time covering the pentagon and white house. a lot changed over that period of time. jason, let's talk about the other hot spot, now syria. what is being said? there is not cop firmation that the chemical weapons were used in syria. this is what the president said about the use of chemical weapons if they happened in syria. >> red line for us is we start seeing whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or utilized. that would change any calculus. >> i want to stress we are evaluating and consulting with the allies about them. on the general principle, the president made clear that use of chemical weapons i quote, "is and would be entirely or
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totally unacceptable "rather. he warned the syrian regime in particular that "there will be consequences and you will be hend accountable." >> bret: the president is august. and jay carney today. >> the u.s. cannot disengage from the world. however eager president obama seems to do so. what happens in syria matters. we have been looking for excuses from day one. not to get involved there. as a result, assad is still there. and the situation has worseped. everyone -- worseped. everyone else realize what is is at stake there. iran realize what is is at stake. they are propping up saddam. russia and china realize so they're undermining us at the-up. the administration has been looking for excuses from day one not to get involved. >> bret: propping up assad. a.b., your thoughts? >> i don't think if there is testimony on the ground about the fact it's a chemical attack that the administration is looking to buy time.
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get the president to israel. off the airplane. but if there is going to be verification from ground and it is real he has made it clear it's his red line. it is true that he waited so long to engage with the opposition there has been all the distress and frustration from the allies and from opposition. this is hard to come in and to the transitory work that he gets involved so there is a post assad stability, vacuum that creates chaos. he is running out of time. the chemical weapons thing, he will be under tremendous pressure from israelis to be with them. tell them the truth and act on the threat of the redline. >> it isn't only the israelis. the fact is that obama, his word is fake. he uses the words "red line," "unacceptable," "intolerable." he said in relation with chemical weapons. if they're used and he does nothing then his word means nothing abroad.
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that's an important element of american strength and it relates to iran where he said intolerable, unsemiable, it's a red line. who will believe him if he doesn't act in this case? >> bret: much more on this as the week develops. next up, a european country tries to confiscates individual savings and a state in america is in another desperate money grab after this.
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minister of finance where absolutely, absolutely clear that this approach would have very detrimental effects on the economy. >> this is a lose-lose
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situation for us. there is absolutely no guarantee that even if we do pass this, this bill, we'll have -- we won't have a bank run tomorrow morning. because i believe the community of our banking system has been totally been destroyed. >> bret: well, cyprus, the parliament voted down a controversial plan to take out some from savings deposits for this bail-out. that they need. but now what? we're back with the panel. jason, germany finance my center saying tonight that it's up clear whether will the banks of cyprus will be able to open again. >> well, the parliament insy produce must think the germans are bluffing. stocks fell today, too. so the market thinks the situation is not over. it will get worse before it gets better. they are probably right. on a fundamental level, the e.u. leaders have to come up with a way to force countries to pay the bills. they're unable to do that.
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they are throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. bail-out in spain is different from ireland and portugal. here, they try to get depositors to recapitalize the bank. process, doing the end run around the protocol for senior creditors, which has created all kind of problems of its own. this is a crisis far from over. >> bret: it doesn't seem like they were not in this plan, but they don't have another plan. >> right. this raises so many alarming questions starting with what is plan "b." will the german tolerate bailing out the fromgic nation? isn't a bail-out supposed to inspire confidence among depositors? will the e.u. survive? will there be contagion and runs on banks in other countrys? i don't think it raises the question about deposit insurance in u.s. or something we'll sit around to compare ourselves.
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>> bret: it could have market impacts obviously if it goes beyond cyprus. >> if you have a as will of faith, throughout europe -- log of faith throughout europe in deposits we have a problem as americans. cyprus is a tiny country. a many money. the amount is trivial. $6 billion. on a continent with 16, 20 trillion of economy. that decides to under mind faith they have in the deposit, as if here was declared yes, you a safety deposit insurance. however we are going to take 10% of your savings tomorrow. it will disappear. it will cause run on bank. this could be a long fuse.
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in the state, they have a 50% tax break for small business and startups. >> listen to this. >> how would you feel if you made a decision four years ago you knew was legally correct and four years later a governing body said it's not correct and you owe us more money and we charge you interest on the money you didn't know you owed? >> bret: that is quite a story. >> it is. >> hard to have sympathy for some of the business owners. they backed a issue on the ballot that was also retroactive. but high taxes is bad for business so the low-tax state like texas draw in businesses with lower unemployment rate.
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>> this is why people leave california. state budgets are broke and they are trying to raise taxes and the states with the lowest taxation track businesses. this is cruel to give something out to encourage small business and take it back. that is extreme. >> bret: not sigh press but it's extreme. >> we have to revise doomsday pronouncement. we have been saying that america is headed the way of greece. i would say it's headed the way of cyprus. if you start to confiscation people's money retroactively you have a problem on your hands. if you put it to the vote for people at stake, you get a result today in the parliament that nobody, not a member of the parliament supported the agreement to government itself proposed. the government party, not one of them voted yes.
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it obtained on a proposal it agreed to. >> bret: the state says affected taxpayers can request a waiver and hope they can struck a deal. we will follow this one. that is it for the panel. stay tuned to see the winner of the no respect award. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovative software on the planet... dragon is captured. is connecting today's leading companies to places beyond it. siemens. answers. at od, whatever business you're in, that's the business we're in.
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